Utah man says he's seen
Bigfoot 9 times since '68 Researcher says Beehive State is known as hot bed
for sightings of Sasquatch. The Deseret News staff writer Zack Van Eyck contributed
to this story. By Lynn Arave, Staff Writer

You've heard of animal
magnetism? How about Bigfoot magnetism? Ron Mower, a 40-year-old construction
worker, seems to attract Bigfoot. He claims to have seen the legendary
apelike creature nine times in Utah between 1968 and 1990. "At times,
I think I've been singled out," said Mower, who will speak this weekend
at the International Sasquatch Symposium in Vancouver, B.C. "Maybe I'm
blessed to be able to have this happen. . . . People think you're crazy, but
there's been a lot of activity." Mower's closest encounter with
one of the creatures, he said, was some 30 feet away and witnessed by his
entire family of six on a remote highway. The encounter occurred on a winter
evening in 1990 when the Mowers suddenly stopped their truck at the top of
Fairview Canyon, north of Orangeville, to avoid hitting something in the middle
of the road. That "something" turned out to be a Bigfoot.
The creature stood there - 30 to 40 feet away - for five minutes, clearly
in the vehicle's headlights, Mower said. Mower is not alone. Thousands
of people across North America and other parts of the world have reported
seeing tall, hairy bipeds roaming about the hinterland this century. In numerous
cultures, stories have been handed down through the ages about a mysterious
being known variously as Bigfoot or Sasquatch in North America, and as Yeti
or the Abominable Snowman in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Bigfoot tracks were reported
in the western United States as long ago as 1810 by David Thompson, a surveyor
and trader who spotted giant footprints near the Columbia River Gorge. But
nearly 150 years passed before the legend became prominent in American culture.
The creature generated headlines in 1967 when Roger Patterson took what is
still the most well-known film footage of an apparent Bigfoot, a one-minute
segment taken in northern California. More than 100 Utah and southern
Idaho sightings have been documented since the 1930s, according to Bigfoot
researcher Ryan Layton of Layton. But Layton admits the rest of the research
community may not be aware of the creature's apparent presence here.

Utah is becoming more
and more known as one of the states that has a bulk of the sightings, Layton
said. "There's been thousands of actual sightings that cover the Florida
Everglades, the backwoods of Georgia and Alabama, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan,
the Mountain West, the Pacific Northwest, Arkansas, Alaska and the swamps
of Louisiana and Texas."

Many observations, footprints,
hair and fecal samples, and unearthly screams in the night have been attributed
to Bigfoot. But no skulls or bones have been found, at least none generally
accepted as belonging to Sasquatch. The creature has a reputation as a stealthy
and elusive traveler. Some tracks have seemed to disappear in midstep. And
some who pursue Bigfoot believe there may be a link between the creature and
UFOs.

Jack Lapseritis, a Bigfoot
researcher from Tucson, Arizona with a paranormal bend, has written a book entitled, "The Psychic Sasquatch, a UFO Connection." Lapseritis said he and
others have communicated with Bigfoot telepathically and have watched the
creatures "dematerialize." Few in research follow his viewpoint.

Lapseritis said conventional
Bigfoot investigators have not found the creature because they are limited
in their belief that Bigfoot is "simply a relic hominid that never became
extinct." "That really may be true," Lapseritis said
in a telephone interview. "But in addition to that, (Bigfoot) may literally
be, as I've discovered, a paraphysical, interdimensional native people that
have told me and other people telepathically that they were brought here millions
of years ago by their friends, the star people."

Mower definitely believes
there's a supernatural aspect to Bigfoot, and that this mysterious being is
more than some gorilla-like animal running loose in the wilderness. He also
believes Bigfoot to be very intelligent. "He, she or it are very perceptive,"
he said. "They know our intentions."

Layton said the number
of sightings Mower has reported is incredible, but feels Mower is more than
just lucky. Layton believes Mower has been singled out by the creatures for
some unknown reason. He also says he suspects the creatures may be telepathic.
Much of the discussion scheduled for the fifth annual International Sasquatch
Symposium will explore the creature's possible connection with UFOs, other
dimensions and telepathic communication. John Cotton, vice president
of the Canadian Society of Questers, believes Bigfoot is from another reality
- another dimension or parallel universe.

"They don't die here.
They don't belong here," he said. "The Sasquatch come here because
they are the teachers of the shamans. Wherever you find shamans or native
people you will find Sasquatch. My title for them is "hairy angels. they
are purveyors of knowledge."

Mower, Layton, Lapseritis and
Cotton will speak at the three-day conference, which began Friday and will
end Sunday at Vancouver's Pacific Space Centre. Mower will recount his nine
Bigfoot experiences in detail.

All of Mower's sightings,
he says, have taken place in two basic areas - the High Uintas (south of Kings
Peak) and the Manti-LaSal Mountains (about 25 miles from his Orangeville home).

Layton hopes to venture
with Mower and professional photographer Larry Jones into those areas later
this year. Layton admits they may see or find nothing but hopes Mower's presence
will coax Bigfoot out of hiding. "Other folks down here have seen things
too, but they don't want to talk about it," Mower said.

He said
a former game warden in the Orangeville area saw plenty of Bigfoot evidence
during his long career but didn't talk about it much for fear of ridicule.
Mower is calm, conservative and factual when he talks about his Bigfoot experiences.
He recently recounted his adventures to a dozen people gathered at a "Bigfoot
party" in Liberty, Weber County.

While all nine experiences have
been startling for him, some were more frightening than others. He believes
some Sasquatches radiate evil. Others just appear curious.

Mower said his
companions have been more frightened by Bigfoot. Some of his relatives have
trembled during their joint sightings. His dog cowers and hides, while his
horses stand there and shake, he said. If you see a Bigfoot with
red eyes, Mower advises, it's best to stay away.

Those are the ones he believes
may have less-than-peaceful intentions. Mower has been armed with a
rifle during most of his Bigfoot experiences, but he said he's never considered
using it.

The creatures haven't directly threatened him, he says. Mower
is an avid hunter and fisherman, hobbies that have contributed to his many
encounters. Still, he says, he doesn't find Bigfoot. They seem to find him
when he's least expecting it.

"They choose the
time for when you can see them," he said. "I've never really hunted
for one."

Cotton, who believes in
reincarnation, said Mower may have been a shaman in a previous lifetime and
has retained that connection with Bigfoot. Mower is not sure but suspects
there may be some kind of barrier that prevents the creatures from being seen. "It's a veil. When it opens, you'll see. Out of the blue he'll be there
and just as quickly he'll be gone." He said he's watched Bigfoot
cover steep ground gracefully, like big game animals, and usually the creature
vanishes into the cover of the forest.

Lapseritis, however, said
Big-foot can literally disappear into thin air. He said he has documented
no less than 69 eyewitness accounts of Bigfoot's vanishing act. "You'd
think after 40 years with all these people (searching) and hunters trying
to shoot Sasquatch that they would have found it by now," Lapseritis
said. "

The established science says that's because it doesn't exist.
But there is an interdimensional aspect to Bigfoot, and it's not something
that's hokey. It's the answer."

As luck would have it, Mower has
never had a camera with him during his nine Bigfoot sightings, although he
now carries one with him more often. "Maybe with a camera I'd never see
him," he offered.

Mower describes Bigfoot as very tall, 7-foot-plus
and more slender than most artists' conceptions. They're black in color, sometimes
with a hint of red. They have a very human-like face, although it is thick
with hair, Mower said.

Most of the creatures Mower has seen have looked
back at him with what he calls a "What-do-you-want?" stare. And
while they've watched his every move, Mower said they otherwise don't seem
all that concerned with his presence. "You parallel each other,"
Mower explained. "When I'm with them I want to learn more, not run or
hide. . . . For that bit of time, you're content with what you've got."

He said he's hunted bear, cougar and other big game, but there's nothing like
a Bigfoot - nor the overwhelming body odor that accompanies them.

Despite
the fear associated with the sightings, Mower said the experiences always
make him want to seek after the creature. It's a mixture of fright and curiosity.
"I'm not afraid to go into the woods," he said.

Mower hasn't
seen a Sasquatch for seven years now. He attributes the lapse to various circumstances.
His wife, Diane, died in January, and Mower spent less time in the mountains
during her long battle with cancer.

Mower, however, believes the creature
has been nearby on several occasions and at least once came close to his home.
In those instances, Mower's dog behaved the same way he did when the two encountered
Bigfoot in the mountains.

Mower lives in an Orangeville neighborhood
near the foothills of the Manti-LaSal Mountains. Has Bigfoot followed him
home? Mower thinks so, but isn't sure how.

What's Mower's best advice
for getting your own glimpse of Bigfoot? He recommends being very observant
and listening to your feelings in the woods. "I believe some people
may see Bigfoot and not recognize him," Mower said. "They shrug
it off."